AS A PARENT HEARING THAT YOUR CHILD HAS CANCER HAS TO BE ONE OF THE MOST FRIGHTENING THINGS IN THE WORLD. PARENTS NEED ALL THE SUPPORT THEY CAN GET SO THEY CAN HELP THEIR CHILDREN, AND AT ONE SOUTH FLORIDA HOSPITAL THAT SUPPORT IS COMING FROM A SURPRISING SOURCE. IN TODAY'S HEALTH CAST CRIST KRUSE CRIST JOINS US WITH HOW A TEENAGER'S FAMILY IS DEALING WITH THAT CITY OF HAVE DEVASTATING DIAGNOSIS. THE BEST MEDICAL TEAM AND THE MOST ADVANCED TREATMENTS WHEN IT COPS TO FIGHTING CANCER BUT STUDS SHOW THAT STRESS CAN LESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ALL OF THOSE THINGS. WASTE WHY THE STAFF AT MIAMI CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL IS THRIVED A SECRET TEENAGE WEAPON. DR. DANIEL SEES A LOT OF YOUNG AHRENS PATIENTS. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE MOST COMMON PEDIATRIC CANCER HE TREATS IS ALSO THE MOST CURABLE. LEUKEMIA EFFECTS ALMOST 3,000 CHILDREN IN U.S. EVERY YEAR. SLIMING TUMOR THAT OCCURS IN THE BONE -- LEUKEMIA IS A TUMOR. IT'S THE BONE MARROW FACTORY THAT MAKES BLOOD AND IT'S GONE HAYWIRE AND IT STARTS PRODUCING THE WRONG KIND OF CELLS. Reporter: THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED TO 16-YEAR-OLD ANDRESS HIDALGO LAST YEAR. HE THOUGHT HE WAS GETTING BRUISE FRES MAKING DIVES IN VOLLEYBALL. IT TURNED OUT TO BE GROUP AT FIRST YOU'RE LOOKA DEER IN HEAD I HEAD PLATES YOU THEY KIND OF TELL YOU CANCER AND THEY START STAINING STUFF, AND I JUSTINE REMEMBER WHAT THE DOCTOR SAID I WAS SO MUCH IN SHOCK. Reporter: TODAY THE HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR IS A PICTURE OF GOOD HEALTH, AND BECAUSE HE'S SHOW THANKFUL TO BE IN REMISSION AN DREES IS PAYING IT FORWARD. THESE AS A ANDRESS IS THE FRIENDLY FACE IN THE OPEN FOR NEW CANCER PATIENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES. THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT CHILDREN MAY NOT TELL ME OR THEY MAY NOT TELL THEIR PARENT BUT THEY WILL CONFIDE IN SOMEONE ELSE WHO IS GOING THROUGH THE SAME DIFFICULT TIME. HI. MY NAME IS ANDRESS. AND THAT HELPS THE PARENTS, TOO, SEEING THAT ANDRESS IS HEALTHY AND BACK TO SCHOOL IN SPORTS GIVES THEM HOPE. WHEN I GO, I TRY TOPHILE SMILE AS MUCH AS I CAN, TRY TO PLAY WITH THEM BECAUSE IF THEY HAVE LIKE A FRIEND AT THE HOSPITAL, MAYBE IT'S JUST A LITTLE MORE ENJOYABLE TO THEM. Reporter: ANDRESS CONSIDERS HIMSELF A MENTOR AND A VOICE FOR KIDS WITH CANCER AND HAS BIG PLANS FOR THE FUTURE. IF I GO INTO MEDICINE THEN I'LL BE AN ONCOLOGIST, SPECIFICALLY A PEDIATRICKING ON ONCOLOGIST BECAUSE I KNOW HOW THESE KIDS FEEL. ANDRESS VOLUNTEERS AS OFTEN AS HE CAN AT HEIMER CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL AND CONTINUING WITH HIS OWN TREATMENT BUT DOCTORS SAY HE

MIAMI -

A teenager whose cancer is in remission helps other families cope when their young loved ones are diagnosed with cancer.

Andres Hidalgo was diagnosed with leukemia last year. He's one of the young patients who Dr. Guillermo De Angulo sees each day at Miami Children's Hospital.

Many, like Hidalgo, are diagnosed with leukemia, the most curable and common pediatric cancer that affects almost 3,000 children in the U.S. each year.

"Leukemia is a tumor that occurs in the bone marrow," explained De Angulo. "The bone marrow's a factory that makes blood and it's gone haywire and starts producing the wrong kind of cells."

At first, Hidalgo, 16, thought the flu was making him tired and sick, but he kept bruising from diving while playing volleyball.

"At first, it's kind of just like you're a deer in headlights," he said. "They kind of tell you 'cancer' and they start explaining stuff and just I don't even remember what the doctor said after that. I was kind of just so much in shock."

Hidalgo now volunteers at the hospital several times a week to meet with recently diagnosed patients and their families.

"There are things a child may not tell me or they may not tell their parents, but they will confide in someone else who has gone through the same difficult time," said De Angulo.

Seeing Hidalgo healthy also gives the parents hope.

"When I go, I try to smile and play with them because if they have a friend at the hospital, maybe it's just a little more more enjoyable to them," he added.

The high school junior is considering a career in medicine.

"If I got into medicine, then I'll be an oncologist, specifically a pediatric oncologist, because I know how these kids feel," he said.

Hidalgo continues to undergo chemotherapy once a month.

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